In November, the Library hosted “Reinvention: Thriving in the 21st Century”, the fourth in a series of international conferences for leaders of mechanics' institutes and independent libraries. We hosted colleagues from Wales, England, Australia, Canada and the United States. Three keynoters provided inspiration and future thinking presentations:
- "Bringing Our Libraries Digital" by Brewster Kahle, Digital Librarian and Founder, Internet Archive
- “The Art of Relevance” by Nina Simon, Executive Director, Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History
- “The Reinvention Recipe: One Part Desperation. One Part Aggravation. One Part Decimation. One Part Liberation” by Lee Rainie, Director, Internet, Science and Technology Research, Pew Research Center
The conference's speakers presented on topics of relevance, digitization, disaster planning, fundraising and innovation with the aim of helping these organizations effectively plan for the future. On the heels of the Reinvention conference, the Library hosted the annual meeting of the American Membership Libraries Group, of which the Mechanics’ Institute is a member.
It was wonderful to meet in person these colleagues who understand the challenges and sustainability of our historic institutions and buildings. We learned a lot, made new connections and look forward to sharing strategies for success and reinvention going forward.
